Development Center to Help Local Small Businesses

With many local businesses struggling to attract and retain customers, a government agency that's been a longtime backer and booster of small businesses nationwide is coming to town to lend a hand.

The Small Business Administration will soon be setting up a Small Business Development Center at the Calabasas Chamber of Commerce to provide professional advice and business counseling.

The 57-year-old organization, which operates about 1,100 centers nationwide, has a regional office at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. Having a development center nearby can make a big difference, said Benn Tenn, a former Disney executive turned business advisor at the regional office.

"We bring in professional consulting services," Tenn said. "Our goal is to have our clients set economic milestones to shoot for and then achieve them." 

Once the local Small Business Development Center is established, any business owner-- Calabasas Chamber of Commerce member or not--can visit and get free counseling from people such as Tenn who have extensive entrepreneurial experience.

About 15 people work at the College of the Canyons site, but a staff size has yet to be set for the Calabasas location.

Tenn offered a few preliminary suggestions to anyone looking to improve their business model: "No. 1, recognize that the world has changed. No. 2, review sales and marketing strategies from the ground up and ask what you need to do to bring your existing customers back.

"Third, deal with pricing on everything from toothpicks to the rent," he said. "Pricing on every product and service has to be renegotiated from the ground up."

People looking to learn about a specific subject will be able to sign up for workshops that run about $30, Tenn said.

Workshops at the College of the Canyons site include QuickBooks training,   "Essential Steps for Writing a Business Plan" and "The Power of E-Mail Marketing and How to Do It Well."

No course schedule or firm opening date is set for the local Small Business Development Center, but Tenn said he expects to have the center up and running soon.

Santo Salvaggio, manager of Riviera Restaurant and Lounge, said he did not know much about the planned center or its services, but that he would welcome it.

"Anything to help us do better is positive," he said.

However, Salvaggio cautioned that it's easier for an outsider to give advice and assume it will help than to actually work for a local business and tackle issues and problems that arise firsthand.

It was the Calabasas Chamber of Commerce that invited the Small Business Administration to set up shop in the community.

"We are celebrating our 55th anniversary this year," said Carol Washburn, chamber president and chief executive officer. "We really want to give our members an edge by bringing in these consultants, who can really help us network and generate the local business traffic."

The services provided by the Small Business Development Centers are free or relatively low cost.The centers are mostly funded by the federal government but also receive money from their host sites.

 In Calabasas' case, the center will be funded out of the city's general fund, but that dollar amount will not be finalized until budgeting sessions begin in May  for the upcoming fiscal year, Calabasas Councilman Jonathan Wolfson said.

Wolfson said having a Small Business Development Center in Calabasas would be a "wonderful thing."

"We do have a business community that's made up of small businesses," he said. "It's nice to have a resource like this for those businesses."

Editor's Note: The Small Business Administration was incorrectly referred to as the Small Business Association in an earlier version of this article.